The Penn State Nittany Lions shocked the college football world Sunday afternoon by firing their long time head coach, James Franklin. ESPN’s James Thamel broke the news at 1:57 PM EST.
Franklin’s team has lost three games in a row, including back-to-back upsets against Big Ten opponents where the Nittany Lions entered as more than 21 point favorites. Penn State is 0-3 on the season against power four opponents.
Franklin’s record at Penn State was 104-45 with six bowl wins.
James Franklin Buyout
Franklin was just four years into a new contract signed in 2021 that extended him through the end of the 2031 college football season. His annual salary was $7.5 million, meaning that each year his buyout dropped by $8 million.
So as it stands now, with six years remaining on his contract, the Nittany Lions owe Franklin $48 million.
According to On3, there is no time table on how quickly PSU has to pay out this contract.
Other schools do incremental payments, while some coaches demand lump sum. Franklin, whose job security was not in question before dropping out of the top 25, did not specify the way in which he would prefer to be bought out when signing this extension.
Franklin’s Big Game Struggles Get Him Canned
For Franklin, it was the big game narrative that highlighted most of his criticisms during his time at Penn State.
In his 12 seasons with the team, Franklin was 4-21 against AP Poll Top 10 teams. His most memorable win came in 2016 when Penn State was able to upset then 2nd ranked Ohio State during a white out in Happy Valley.
That magical 2016 season ended in Penn State winning Franklin’s only Big Ten championship, beating Wisconsin in Indiana.
At the end of the day, it was the high expectations that Franklin help create that ended up doing him in. Three straight seasons his Nittany Lions have entered the college football season with a pre-season top ten ranking.
Last season he won two playoff games before losing in the semi-finals. However, those wins came over the two weakest teams in the playoff, SMU and Boise State.
James Franklin Fired After 12 Years At Penn State